


The Gods’ Group Chat

by the_fifth_marauder101



Series: Tiny Tony Stories [3]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Gods & Goddesses, Always let me know if I should tag this as something, Avengers Family, Avengers in India, Crack Taken Seriously, Crack Treated Seriously, Deities, Desi Tony Stark - Freeform, Disappearances, Domestic Avengers, Everyone is a Dork honestly, Fluff, Gen, God Tony Stark, God!tony stark, Gods and Goddesses, Gujarati Tony Stark, Human Disaster Tony Stark, I don't know what else to tag, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Racism, India, Indian Character, Indian Tony Stark, Indian mythology - Freeform, Insecure Tony Stark, Kidnapped Tony Stark, Kidnapping, Loosely playing with Relgion, M/M, Meditation, Mixed Tony Stark, Mom Friend Tony Stark, Natasha Romanov & Tony Stark Friendship, Nirvana - Freeform, Non human Tony Stark, Other deities, POC Tony Stark, Pepper Potts - Freeform, PoC, Post-Avengers (2012), Racism, Reincarnation, Religious References, Slice of Life, Steve Rogers & Tony Stark Friendship, Steve Rogers is a dork, Thor (Marvel) is a Good Bro, Tony Stark Centric, Tony Stark is a dork, Tony Stark is a mess, Worried Avengers, but not really, ish, not human tony stark, playing with cultural concepts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-03
Updated: 2020-11-28
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:28:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,626
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27707648
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_fifth_marauder101/pseuds/the_fifth_marauder101
Summary: Objectively, Indian mythology is incomprehensibly complex—with over 100 million deities, and a route to Nirvana that requires mental strength beyond basic comprehension.Tony knows this. From the teachings of his mom—“Mummy, Tony, Mummy”—and his own short-lived exploration of his ethnic background—(being mixed is hard ok?)—. He was entranced by the stories of Krishna and Ganesha. While scientifically he doesn’t know what happens after death, he grew up accepting reincarnation as a result of his mother’s belief.That's why—looking down at the palm leaf engraved with his past, future, and present—he's stunned. Flabbergasted, astounded, at a loss of words but still rambling via monologue.That, he, Tony Stark is a god.
Relationships: Bruce Banner & Tony Stark, Natasha Romanov & Tony Stark, Steve Rogers & Tony Stark, Tony Stark & Avengers Team, Tony Stark & Thor
Series: Tiny Tony Stories [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1929805
Comments: 6
Kudos: 48





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [definesai](https://archiveofourown.org/users/definesai/gifts).



> Thanks to definesai for betaing!!!! Shout out to the Desi Marvel Discord group for helping me with my questions. 
> 
> To clarify, I am Indian but I was not born nor raised there, so my cultural ties aren't too strong. I'm also not mixed but I tried to do justice. This fic is not meant to offend anyone and I respect all religions, cultures, and ways of life. 
> 
> Hope y'all enjoy!!!
> 
> ~Vix

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bets with the Avengers lead to interesting life experiences

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic was supposed to be posted before Diwali but school got the best of me! But I finally finished it! I hope y'all enjoy it!

~☽.✧.☾~

Tony hides his fondness by smirking in an  _ “I told you so _ ” fashion. Steve glowers at him, the sound of Clint groaning dramatically adding to the overall mood of the party. 

“Shut up, Tony,” Steve grumbles, as he stomps beside him. The hilarious image of Captain America clutching a small grey toiletry bag was almost enough to make Tony double over in peals of laughter. It doesn’t help that it’s nearing 1:30 AM, and the mighty Avengers are stuck in a near-deserted baggage area with—ironically—no bags. Not to mention the over 14-hour flight to India—and more so—taking the flight on a  _ public  _ plane. 

To clarify, Tony never thought this in a degrading way, but rather in an “ _ If-you-got-it,-use-it _ ” manner. He  _ has  _ a private jet, he could have  _ easily  _ taken the Avengers to India and had a fantastic time. Hell, they could have gone in first class, even! 

But no~, Mr. and Sir “ _ Let’s accompany Stark on his next business trip and make him take a public plane _ ” decided they wanted to spice things up a bit. 

_ Idiots. _ Tony had warned them. 

Tony sniffs, mirth shining through his eyes, “No,” he grins, “No, I don’t think I will.”

Being on this side of things, it is truly hysterical. The team was drunk out of their minds when they placed the bet and Clint refused to allow them to back out of it the next day. Funnily enough, Steve  _ agreed _ . 

_ “How bad could it be, Tony?”  _ Steven had—so naively—asked, encouraged by a hungover but—somehow still peppy—God of Thunder. 

Oh, how he was eating his words. 

Natasha—somehow still seeming pristine even in her oversized shirt that hung off her shoulder paired with baggy Costco sweatpants stolen from Bruce—drawls, “This is entirely you two’s fault, so Tony does get to mock.”

Tony presses a hand over his heart—still expecting there to be metal and humming of energy beneath, and feeling a jolt go through him nearly every time—and flutters his eyes dramatically, “Why Nat, you flatter me.”

“It pained me to say it,” She deadpans, but her lips twitch up just slightly. 

Clint flops half his weight onto Nat’s back as they bicker, dramatically whining under his breath. Nat doesn’t move, and Clint slides off her and then catches himself for the dramatics of it all. 

Tony shoots a look at Bruce, who shakes his head fondly. The image before them was interesting, to say the least. Thor—squishing into the stiff black airport chairs—beside Bruce watching the three carry-ons that were on the plane as Steve looks dismayed and annoyed at the situation. 

“Look, once we get home we can go shopping, right Tony?” Bruce asks, taking on the role of an optimist.

Tony grins, “Absolutely.”

Who knew betting to fly 14-hours across the globe would result in an exhausted team of superheroes and losing your check-in bags that were left in Paris? All courtesy of a drunk Clint and Steve—who was wasted on Asgardian Mead.

(Tony did, Tony knew)

~☽.✧.☾~

Toeing off his shoes, Tony inhales the stillness of the small—by western standards—apartment. Loosening his tie and shrugging off his jacket onto the dining chair near the door, he pads across the wooden floors. Tipping forward, he gracefully falls onto the couch—dusted thanks to the handsomely paid cleaning lady—. Tipping his head backward, he focuses on the sound of a busy street below and bugs that make their presence known by filling the air with their noise. 

His brown eyes—deep, dark, nearly black that lights up with emotions, aiding in framing his iconic expressions—feel closed, as his dark curls brush the glass window. 

Tony sighs, reaching up to press two fingers to his temple, attempting to use the pressure to erase away the headache that’s been steadily creeping up on over the course of the day. 

Thankfully, it was only a one-day business endeavor. Honestly, Tony wanted to skip out on this meeting—as he usually does—but alas, the bet. Tony Stark was many things but a quitter was not one of them.

Being back in India—however—elects numerous emotions that well up in the billionaire. For one, he’s filled with longing for his mother—as childish as it seems. He remembers his mummy, who buried her heritage in the mansion—keeping it in the depths of her own personal room that’s connected to a sunroom she claimed as the prayer room. He recalls the smell of incense that he stuck his nose up at over the years but now brought fond memories to the forefront of his mind. 

He remembers how—when she could whisk him away for the weekend—she would have him sit crossed legged in front of her, telling him about fables and mythology of her homeland while rubbing coconut oil into his normally gelled down curls. 

That’s why—instead of going back to the lavish hotel he checked the Avengers into—he came to a small flat passed down in his family for years. Despite Indian families being larger than life, Tony—oddly—only had his mummy as his tie to Mother India. 

He curses under his breath as he pulls out his phone—something his Mummy would have thrown a  _ chappal  _ for his crassness. What can he say? Gujarati and Hindi swear words didn’t get him detention in boarding school. Force of habit. 

Ignoring the numerous emails that pile up in his inbox, he read the one brought to his attention. Unconsciously, his lip curls up from what he takes in. Apparently, the activities Tony had planned for the team was canceled on short notice for undisclosed reasons. 

Tony groans at the thought of rescheduling. On top of everything else, Pepper’s PA is on leave this weekend. Not only are they unable to help, but that means bothering Pepper is a big no-no. 

So that’s a bust. 

Unless?

Tony shoots up with a grin on his face, and ideas filling his mind. 

~☽.✧.☾~

“ _ Oi, Rambo! _ ” Tony calls to Steve, his hands cupped around his mouth. “Get over here!” 

Steve—in all his tourist-like glory—stands just at the mouth of the alley they took a shortcut through. Upon crossing the street and doing a headcount, Tony spun around to see Steve still on the other side of the street distracted by a white cow exiting the temple grounds next door. 

“There’s cows, Tony!” Steve coos, “Look at them!” 

“ _ Arrey yar _ ,” Tony sighs, rolling his eyes skyward in exasperation.  **_(roughly translates to “oh”, or in this context, “ughhh”)_ **

“Brucie, can you make sure Thor doesn’t buy the entirety of that poor guy’s corner store?”

“I think Bruce is only seconds away from following suit,” Natasha replies in his steed. With scrunched eyebrows, Tony turns back to the team where Bruce, Thor, and Clint have piled into the nearest shop and excitingly ask Bruce to pronounce the names of the snacks. 

“How—?” Tony points, then shake his head, “—Nat, could you? Oh, she’s already moving, ok then.” 

He sighs, looking up at the storm clouds that pile up in the sky—being that it’s nearing monsoon season. “Maybe backpacking with a team of tourists wasn't the best idea.”

~☽.✧.☾~

Standing in the open market in the morning drizzle after a night of public transportation—then renting a car—doesn’t seem like fun, in theory, but in practice? 

Yeah, it’s not much fun either, mainly because Clint won’t stop complaining. 

Nat wacks him over the head with a bag, “Stop whining you big baby, we’re all wet and tired, ok?”

“Exactly, but today’s the only day this shop’s open, and Bruce really wants this tea ok? So we’re gonna do exactly and then y’all can blow off 5,000 worth of rupees on nicknacks,” Tony waves off, looking at his GPS. “Green Bean, are you sure it was here? And not some other city?”

They branch off, bickering at the front of the group. Raindrops slide down Bruce and Tony’s glasses, as they trek along—Tony still wearing blue sunglasses despite the soft grey light filtered through clouds—. 

Once they acquire the tea—four boxes of it—Tony drags Nat to a clothing shop, wanting to see if she’d like any of the  _ lehenga  _ or blouses. His mummy loved her ethic wear, though she didn’t wear it often. Before she went missing, Tony remembers when Auntie Janet—Mrs. Van Dyne, when he was with his dad—would talk fashion, his mom sharing her clothes with Janet and helping her incorporate it into her sketches from time to time. 

Leaving the shop with two bags, they find Thor and Clint who are trying—and failing— to communicate to the vendor that they are looking for a ‘ _ side-blown _ ’ wooden flute. Remembering the tales of Krishna he told Thor, Tony sighs. He  _ had  _ wanted a side blown flute for most of his childhood. Of course Thor went looking for that. Shaking his head, Tony hooks an arm around Thor’s and inserts himself in with a dazzling smile. They walk away, Tony promising Thor that, “It’s ok, Point Break. We can find one somewhere else.” 

Tony points to Nat while he checks the time, “Nat, go with Clint and Thor, I’ll go find Bruce, and meet you at the front in half an hour.” 

When he finds him, they take a detour to the temple nearby. They toe-off their shoes and help Bruce into a loincloth to cover his legs. Placing an offering of sweets he bought from a stand earlier, Tony reaches up to ring the bronze bell over the area by the figurine, then folds his hands in front of the statue. He can hear—not see, since his eyes are closed—Bruce follows suit, coming to stand next to him in the same position. 

Bruce nudges him with his elbow, “Tony, thank you for taking us along and making a trip out of this. I didn’t get to do many touristy activities when I lived in India.” 

Opening only his left eye with his hands still folded in a prayer position, Tony murmurs, “‘course big guy.”

After praying to the Goddess, Tony and Bruce leave the small temple to meet the rest of the party. Piling the bags into the back, they join Steve in the rental car—read ‘van’ because how else are they going to fit all of them—, moving to the next location.

~☽.✧.☾~

Clint was conked out in the back, next to Bruce and the bags. Thor sat with Nat in the middle seat, she was twisted in her grey carpeted car seat, braiding Thor’s blonde hair. Thor and Steve—who was in the passenger’s seat now—were passing snacks and water back and forth. Tony—their driver for the evening—was talking to Bruce, alternating from Bollywood to mythology. 

“Wait, so I thought Krishna was Vishnu? Like reincarnated?” Bruce gestured with his hands, holding them palms facing the sky and leaving them out like a balance scale. 

Tony—after scowling at a honk from the car behind them in the traffic jam—tilted his head and met Bruce’s eyes in the mirror, “Well, it depends. I was taught that  _ Vishnu  _ is an energy.”

“So Vishnu is not a God?” Steve asks, popping a spoon of  _ aloo bhujia _ in his mouth. 

“Well, it depends.” Tony points at his styrofoam bowl of the snack, cutting in a quick, “If you drop that you have to clean it.” Steve nods, then Tony continues, blowing out a breath. 

“There are 3 energies,  _ Brahma  _ is birth or creation.  _ Shiva  _ is Death or Destruction, and  _ Vishnu  _ is Life or Sustancance between those two events. Do I personally believe  _ Vishnu  _ takes a form of a deity? Yes, and many others who follow Hinduism do too, after all, he’s depicted as a humanoid figure. But people also believe that  _ Vishnu  _ as an energy isn’t a corporeal form. Or isn’t often a corporeal form. I’m not quite sure which is ‘right’ because I was taught both, but that doesn’t really matter in Hinduism anyways.”

Steve's eyebrows are still furrowed but he nods, looking contemplating. Tony doesn't have the slightest clue what he’s thinking, but Steve isn’t saying anything yet.

There’s a small fear Tony feels. It’s in the tips of his fingers, in the farthest darkest corners of the pit in his gut, and the tense lines of apprehension in his toes hidden by his close-toed shoes.

It’s the fear that his views, his beliefs, his ideas will be mocked, be shunned by those he holds close. It’s lingering fear—from being closed off from that side of him—he has about his place. Whether it be on the team, in society—may seem cliche, but the rumors surrounding Howard having a brown son followed him from day one—, even in India—he’s only half Indian, only one foot in, deep-rooted and even then he’s struggling to stay halfway through the crack in the door—. 

He’s fearful that he’s spreading misinformation. That his brief grasp of this culture is completely wrong. That he will be scorned, mocked, and spat upon for opening his mouth. 

It’s a deep rooted fear that’s been burrowed and stuck with him all these years. It grows, fertilized by the stumbled mix of  _ Gujrati  _ and  _ Hindi  _ that spills from his mouth reflexively. It grows when he steps out in shorts and then has to look up how to use a loincloth with flaming cheeks. 

Born a mixed kid, growing up in the 20th century America has him doubting his right to talk about his culture. How dare he say anything when he could be so easily misinformed? When he's told different things by so many sources? 

Rationalizing it by logic does nothing for his emotions. Yes, he knows it’s understandable—given his situation. He knows Hinduism and India is so rich in its diversity and history. That doesn't stop his emotional turmoil, though. 

“So, what does that have to do with  _ Krishna _ ?” Nat asks, stumbling over the pronunciation a bit. 

Tony shakes himself out of his thoughts, clicking his tongue, “So, the idea of reincarnation is a prominent part of Hinduism, right?” At the hums of the fellow people in the car, he continues, 

“Well, that also has to do with mediation and reaching  _ Moksha _ . If you’re familiar with Buddhism that’s close to  _ Nirvana _ —basically enlightenment—which then puts you at a place that’s similar to the deities. Many Brahmins and Sadhus—if I'm using the right terminology—get through that via different ‘paths’. So basically, where I’m leading with this is that  _ Vishnu _ —being life—is in everyone. And when you reach enlightenment, then you can tap that, I think. So  _ Krishna  _ is a person who either reincarnated as  _ Vinishu _ —the deity—or reached enlightenment and tapped into his energy called  _ Vishnu _ . It really depends on what you learn/follow, and, either way, it’s valid because both are accepted. Since it is such an old religion after all.” 

Tony was confused about which it was for a while. When he could squirrel away books about the  _ Ramayana  _ and  _ Mahābhārata,  _ he would learn bits and pieces about the deities he was told about through oral storytelling. Tales of a little blue toddler fighting demon bulls and holding up a mountain on his pinkie were picked from the epic battles of India’s rich mythology.

Up until he was a teen, he believed  _ Krishna  _ was a reincarnation of  _ Vishnu _ . Not that he thought too heavily about it as a kid. In the same way, the sun is yellow and the sky is blue, Krishna was Vishnu. 

When he was older—when he was being heavily influenced by the world around him; when Howard pushed and milked the left side of his brain filled with semantics and blueprints; when he was snooty and tethering on the edge of making a world-changing action or a stupid one—Mummy told him of the in-depth mythology that had fascinated him as a kid. Still does to this day.

He learned about mediation and the paths to enlightenment. About the energies and the millions upon millions of deities. He tried to dive into the world he only dipped his toes into as a child. The child who blabbed in Hindi and broken Gujrati, and would run barefoot behind his mother until Howard sneered for their toes to be covered up.

And then his mummy—his one tie to his country, his beautiful mother with her long wavy black hair that she straightened for society and her  _ mehndi  _ painted feet that would be covered by high heels—died. 

Tony didn’t learn more about his culture for a long time after that.

“Wait, Krishna achieved enlightenment to become a god? Doesn't that take like long years of meditation?” Steve asked confused, with furrowed eyebrows and slightly pointed down lips. 

The car inched forward, the traffic relentless. Tony clicked his tongue, “Well, remember reincarnation? Material things don’t get carried over in rebirth, your spiritual achievements—however—do, theoretically. Once you begin the path to enlightenment you will inch forward every time you reincarnate. For an anecdote, think about the schooling system. If you’re in 8th grade when you’re reborn, you will still be in eighth grade when you begin the process again. Well actually—” Tony pauses, thinking.

“—it’ll be like you first start in kindergarten then jump to 8th grade because you have re-nurture your base or introduction. That’s why Krishna—despite being a kid—reached that level. More or less.”

Tony scratches his neck, “Yeah there’s a lot of layers to it, I don’t know everything about it either. There are different paths to enlightenment too. It’s not just meditation. And they all have different names too—not that I can remember them at the moment.”

“It’s really interesting,” Bruce adds, “I learned about things here and there when I was in India but as I said, I didn’t know all that, Tony.”

“Yeah, you actually surprised me when you were doing yoga and meditation, Bruce. Because it was like it was actually ways that others in India do too, not just those western centers.” Tony then thinks for a moment, “I mean good for them that they’re stretching or whatever, maybe don’t toss around terms? Just a suggestion, I don’t dictate what people do.”

Bruce laughs, and Steve pinks a bit, “Are those not good?” He asks earnestly.

“Well no,” Tony waves it off, “They can do whatever they want, but I just find it funny that you walk in and hear things like “ _ now we’re going to stretch. Reach for your ‘nir-va-nah _ .’” Tony imitates the recordings played, then laughs as he finishes.

“I’m sure others don’t care, but I always felt uneasy by those things. Dunno why,” Tony shrugged. 

That was a lie, he knew why. He didn’t know enough about that aspect of his culture, and watching as someone else took an idea or half and ran with made him feel things. Things that twisted in his gut, and made him queasy. 

And maybe some people  _ do  _ research up and down, maybe they  _ are  _ genuine. But the ratio of those isn't high. 

It’s the little mixed kid in him—who grew up so westernized to the point where speaking the language is a struggle—that wants to be like his fellow peers but isn’t. Who can’t be fully American—despite Howard’s instance of being as westernized as possible—because of his melanin toned skin. 

Tony pushes these feelings down—and out—with a long breath, tuning back into the conversation Nat is having with Bruce over yoga poses. 

Steve nudges him, giving him a smile when Tony meets his eyes. Tony reciprocates before slightly turning in his seat to look at Thor—who hasn’t said much in the conversation. 

“Hey Rapunzel, aren’t you technically a deity, how does your holiness work?”

Bruce scoffs playfully, “Oh my gosh Tony, you can’t just ask people if they’re deities.”

Steve cocks his head, “Is that a reference to that one pink woman movie?”

Tony cackles, “Mean girls?” He asks between breaths. 

“ _ Pink woman movie _ ,” Nat smirks, a shit-eating grin hidden behind it.

Steve blushes, “Shut up.” Elbowing Tony at his “ _ Never change Cap _ ” with an eye roll. 

Thor—after recovering from the infectious laughter—answers Tony, “Something like that, yes. The deities of worship all exist in varying places across the universe. As children, we heard more about them because they were the only ilk our age. We’re still in contact sometimes, though not often.”

“Wait so like all deities?” Steve wonders, “Where? Because Asgard is the Gods’ domain in Norse Mythology, right? And obviously, that exists, what about other places? Like  _ Tir-na-nog _ for example? Or Olympus?” 

Thor goes to nod, but stills when Nat hisses at him for messing with her hairstyle, “Yes they do! Though locations might not match up with what humans recorded.”

Bruce cuts in, “Wait, does that mean that aliens visited Earth before, then? Like that whole theory with the Pyramids of Giza?”

Tony turns in his seat—the cars are  _ still  _ stuck in the jam—. “Bruce, how do you know that?” He teasingly narrows his eyes at the man in the back, “Aren’t you a man of the  _ science _ ?” Tony exaggerates the last word with an accent. 

“He watched ancient Aliens.” Nat snitched.

“Bruce!”

“I do what I want!”

~☽.✧.☾~

(The discussion carries on and on as they inch through the traffic. At one point 5 cars honk at once, making Clint jump awake. He’s greeted with Tony yelling obscenities in broken Hindi and English through an open window as Steve tries to calm him down.)

((Tony loves road trips))

~☽.✧.☾~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Part two will be coming next week! Same day similar time! Until then tell me what you think!


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a lot of fun to write, I didn't want to incorporate too many Indian deities in case I represent them wrong. Enjoy!

[ _Information on Nadi Jyotish_ ](https://www.astroved.com/nadi/nadi-astrology)

[ _List of Knowledge Deities_ ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_knowledge_deities)

~☽.✧.☾~

In his third year of college, Tony attended a SAC—South Asian Cub—meeting. He remembers being side-eyed by a few kids, though many didn’t care. He sat between a girl—she was Tamil—and another guy—who was Nepali. He didn’t talk much to the guy, who had his own friend group, but the girl—Teja—didn’t hesitate to talk to him. 

He wouldn’t say they were close. He was only at the meeting to prove a point to Rhodey anyways, but the times he went—usually when he was bored, but trying to avoid being seen at parties—he always saw her and engaged in long conversations. It was nice. 

One such conversation was when they stumbled upon the topic of astrology. 

“My dad was really into that,” She recalled, “He grew up around astrologists, and actually used to skip school to try and learn under them.”

“Would he get in trouble?”

“When he got caught.” Teja smirked, “My grandmother would tell me of the times she would find the astrology books under his mattress.”

“Yikes,” Tony laughed. 

It was a very interesting conversation. Mummy was never too interested in astrology, but Tony didn’t mind listening to the way others thought or believed. Something that stuck out to him was a specific practice Teja brought up. 

“Nadi Jyotish,” She enunciated for him, as he wrote out the letters on a notecard to research later, “It’s a practice in India where sages' predictions are written on Nadi leaves, specifically ‘soul stories’. The idea is that it can tell you about your past life, you know reincarnation and all that? And even guide you on how to find your residential karma from your past life.”

Tony’s eyebrows furrowed together until something clicked in his brain, “Oh! Is this related to the idea of reincarnation and meditation leading to _Moskha_?”

Teja clapped her hands together loudly, “Yes! Exactly!”

Tony _did_ research that, later in his life when he had—you know—the internet. The _Rishis_ —the group who could read and record these cards—would read you a prerecorded paragraph from a pressed palm leaf. Usually in ancient Sanskrit or Tamil, it would almost always be continuous—without any spaces—meaning it took special training. 

Tony has been inwardly fascinated and wanted to go and have his leaf read, but never found the time or way to be able to go to it. After all, if the Rishti you go to first didn’t have your leaf, you would have to contact another one and then go to them. That would—after all—take time. 

So Tony—when Bruce would take over driving—would forfeit his sleep for—having JARVIS—look for where he can get a reading. It wasn’t his main goal of the trip, but definitely a motivation. And a private one at that.

He’s not embarrassed per say, but he does have a reputation to keep. Plus that would be a favor in that asshole Strange’s court. And if—the man they helped fight once—didn’t want to be facial hair bros, then they were nemesis’. He doesn’t make the rules.

Now—objectively—Indian mythology is incomprehensibly complex. There’s over 100 million deities, and a route to Nirvana that requires mental strength beyond basic comprehension.

Tony knows this. He wasn’t ignorant enough to believe that he _hadn’t_ had any prior—meaning in his past life—contact with meditation or had absolutely 0 progress in any form of _Dharma_ before. That’s statistically impossible. In fact, he and his mom had a—slightly egotistical—idea that the reason he was so intelligent from a young age was due to past life. 

But he would have never thought he was anywhere close to attaining. Merchant of Death and all. 

That's why—looking down at the palm leaf engraved with his past, future, and present—he's stunned. Flabbergasted, astounded, at a loss of words but still rambling via monologue.

That he—Tony Stark—had attained. 

Reached Nirvana. Was a deity. 

He was a _god._

~☽.✧.☾~

Tony—stunned—lets his feet carry him out the door, ignoring the man’s cry behind him. He doesn’t register much after that. 

When he does come to his senses, it’s at the jolting feeling of cold, snow freezing his open toes and wetting his sandals. His hands come to clasp at his forearms and he shivers, looking around at the mountain landscape that he now found himself on.

_What?_

Mountain? How the fuck did he get up here?

“What the actual—” Tony cuts off when—upon whirling around to gawk at his surroundings—comes across a temple. Or a building that looks similar to a temple. 

Seeing as it’s the only building for literally miles, he treks over to it. After failing to connect to JARVIS or anyone for that matter, he takes a closer look at the building. An open temple with a pond in the middle of snow coated white granite. It’s all very elegant, with flower garlands hung around the pillars and lilies in the water. Intricate designs decorate the structure of the temple. Across the small pond—at the back of the room—he notices a hallway that’s shrouded in shadow seems to lead into the mountain. 

The hair stands up at the back of his neck, Tony catalogs it as the familiar feeling of someone watching him. He whirls around, faced with a man coming up behind him. 

Thin, slightly paler than him, with a bun on his head not unlike other priests or holy men. He wore a white loin cloth tied with an orange cloth belt and holy necklaces hung over his bare chest. His face was young and had holy markings Tony recognized. 

“ _Namaste_ ,” The man greets, folding his hands and bowing his head, “ _Young deity._ ”

_Well,_ _fuck_.

~☽.✧.☾~

“Where would he even go?” Steve exclaimed, running a hand through his hair. The Avengers had gotten all their things packed up to go to the next location, and—upon noticing Tony still wasn’t here—asked JARVIS where he was. While JARVIS had said he doesn’t believe Tony was kidnapped—per say—he doesn’t know where he went. 

Naturally, this is a cause for concern, so the Avengers regrouped to where they stayed to try and track him down. 

Clint sighs, wiping a hand down his face and replays the pixelated footage from street cameras. 

On screen, Tony walked into a small shop situated between other buildings. He talked to a worker from what could be seen from the window then disappeared further into the store. Later—just before JARVIS notified them of Tony’s disappearance—the door opened, a quick flash of white light flitted in that area. No one walked in or out. The door opened again, and the worker came out on the street, looking puzzled based on his mannerisms and then went back into his store. Tony wasn’t there. 

“Thor? You saw that right?” Clint asks, not looking away from the screen that replayed the footage again. 

Steve furrows his eyebrows, “What?”

Clint goes back to the door, and lets it replay, pointing to where it flashes light, he pauses, “There. See that?” It looks like—”

“Magic?” 

Clint looks at Thor with narrowed eyes, “Way to ruin my thunder.”

Steve perks up, “Was that a—a pun?”

“Man, that would have been funny if your cadence wasn’t off.”

Steve flips Clint the bird, while Thor answers, after following their banter like a sports game, “I do in fact believe that to be magic, but I can’t identify it.”

“Well that doesn’t narrow much down, thanks anyway buddy.” Clint blows out a sigh. He was hoping that if Thor could place it they could place whether it was extraterrestrial or not. If not, they could look into it being of mutant origin. Having it specified would be a lot easier. 

Before anyone could add to the conversation, the door opened, Nat and Bruce coming in. 

“Did you talk to the guy?” CLint asked, referring to the worker Tony was talking to.

Nat nodded, and Bruce replied, “He went to open the door after having his palm read or something, but vanished in a flash of white light. However, an older worker said Tony was in a ‘safe place’. Something about transcending.” Bruce sat next to Steve as he wipes his glasses. 

“Transcending?” Steve asks. 

“I might have mistranslated. He said it in Hindi, I think.”

“That might be important,” Steve ponders aloud, and Bruce shrugs, “Or it could be the words of an old man.”

They go back and forth about this for a bit, Clint and Natasha chiming in. Thor however has something else on his mind. 

That white light is something he’s seen before. The bifrost—despite being rainbow—has a very similar look. A flash of light and then teleportation—however it is lacking the bridge aspect. While it could have easily been something else, Thor has a nagging feeling. 

A feeling that increases when Thor gets a notification. 

“Ah, lovely!” Thor says, reading the message. This draws the attention of the others. 

Bruce turns to him, “Thor, wha—wait what’s in your hand?” 

And that truly was the question because Thor held a screen, one that was a translucent yellow, nearly bordering on gold. It had a dim glow to it and was horizontal, fitting to the same dimensions a phone would have but scaled to Thor’s size. From what they could see it was clearly a different non-terrain language written in bubbles, not unlike text chats. 

Which is what Clint pointed out.

“Thor, are you _texting_?” 

Thor blinks, then looks comically offended, “Of course not! I’ve been informed by a message on our trans-communication tab that the gods have welcomed a new deity!” 

“Trans-communication tab?” 

“New deity?” Bruce and Steve ask in unison. 

“Aye, it’s a device made by the younger deities to get formal and informal messages across the nine realms faster. Loki, Hephaestus, Anansi, Saraswati, and a couple others made it long ago because they got tired of getting sent scrolls that would arrive at staggered times.” Thor explains. 

“Once a scroll appeared to Aries in battle, causing him to be given away to the enemy. However, he was already losing so at least then he had an excuse for once.” Thor chuckles at the memory before continuing, “There seems to have been a reincarnated soul re-enlightened in—what you mortals refer to as—the Hindu Gods.”

“Huh,” Bruce said, “You know that reminds me—” he was cut off by Clint. 

“Wait, wait, wait. So what you’re saying is—” Clint wheezes as he laughs at his own joke, “—you have a God’s group chat?”

“Oh my god,” Steve groans.

“Eyyy— _ow!_ Natasha!”

~☽.✧.☾~

“Wait is it like an app or?”

“Thoth named it Harmony.”

“Dude, that looks like discord.”

“Like what?”

~☽.✧.☾~

“I wish you would all treat this with the gravitas it deserves,” Thor frowns as they laugh at the idea of a group chat for deities. 

“No, no, no, wait. Do—do you guys have like—like—memes?” Clint asks in between breaths. 

Immediately, Thor is met with the image Loki once sent. Thor bleeding in the background from a stab wound and Loki looking back at the viewer with a smug look on his face. 

(It looks suspiciously like that image he saw of a young girl in front of a house fire.)

“Nooo _~_?” Thor draws out, too slowly.

Clint laughs so hard he falls off the desk chair. Natasha kicks him with her shoe. 

~☽.✧.☾~

_‘Thor the newest is sending for you,’_

“Ah, I see my reputation precedes me!” Thor exclaims, tucking the tab away. 

“I’m sorry?” Bruce asks, baffled.

“I must go, I’ve been urgently summoned by the newest deity,” Thor explains to Bruce, moving to get his shoes. 

“But what about Tony?” Steve asks, dismay clear in his tone. JARVIS still had no sign of Tony, though it had only been 10 minutes since they last checked. 

Thor—however—is not just up and leaving the search for a dear teammate, oh no. He’s got a theory. One that he would confirm. 

Here’s the thing—unlike Loki, who adores gossip at heart—he doesn’t read all the messages, only the ones that are alerts. 

(He had Thoth show him how. One, because he doesn't trust Loki to do it, he’d probably prank it. And two, because Thoth wouldn’t judge or tease him for asking. Well, he’d call him stupid in many different fashions, but he calls everyone that.)

Many of the deities will take mortals on occasion, just for the hell of it. The Olympians—or ‘Greek Gods’, as Midgard called it—were especially guilty of this, as were the Midgardian dubbed ‘Egyptian deities’. It would not be a stretch that Anthony—being as gifted as he was—could have attracted the attention of a deity or two, and was taken there for a bored god’s amusement or wishes. After all, that flash of light was too close to things he’s seen before. 

“I shall have Heimdal look for Tony when I return. I should not be long!” At the round of protests that results in, he shouts a reassuring, “Do not worry, my friends!” And flies off. 

(The Avengers are—in fact—very worried. Thor’s words are not reassuring and neither is his disappearance.)

“Bruh,” says Clint, and Natasha—without looking—throws a pen at his nose. 

~☽.✧.☾~

Thor isn’t fond of the mountainous locations some deities claim as home. Solely because he isn’t allowed to fly up them. He has to trek up. It’s cumbersome to get to the location. 

So, he’s already grateful to the newest addition to the deity line up for allowing him to directly take the Bifrost to the temple entrance. 

He’s just about to open with his greeting and thanks when his eyes fall on said new addition.

“ _Tony?_ ”

“Thor, help,” Tony whines. Sitting on the floor, he dons red jogger-like pants. It’s tied with the same colored cloth around his waist and the excess drapes between his legs. His feet were bare—henna drying in designs on them—and gold around his ankles. He also had gold jewelry lain on his bare chest and had a red tikka drawn on his forehead. Due to the kohl that traced his eyes, the brown is much more prominent and very different from when it’s normally covered by sunglasses. 

“Thor, they’re putting _mehndi_ on me,” Tony whines again, “Help! I have hair on my arms, it’s gonna hurt!” **_(Mehndi - Henna)_**

“ _Tsk, stay still_ ,” one of the servants hisses, her bangles clinking as she grips Tony’s hand tighter and glares at him. When he apologizes, she nods and goes back to apply the henna methodically. 

“Uh,” Thor stutters, “Right. This makes things a bit easier.”

“Thor,” Tony hisses between gritted teeth, “Explain, or this better not be a marriage kidnapping. If they put _haldi_ on me, I will make you regret it.” **_(Haldi - Turmeric)_**

~☽.✧.☾~

The places that deities exist are not often on Earth, however they do exist. Asgard is a prime example. Those gods were—in fact—extraterrestrial in that way, whether the Midgardian tales depict that or not. The Greek deities actually left Earth to go to another planet, if Thor remembers correctly. 

(He probably doesn’t, Loki was the more studious of the two.)

Other pathogens are more complicated than simply being on another planet, such as the Egyptians. They span different universes altogether. Or those from Celtic mythology, who exist in between portals. 

The deities are spread amongst the cosmos and beyond to put it simply. However, what does bring them together are celebrations. Typically for those of new deities. 

Having new deities in the diaspora is always an event, as they are typically given their duties and accepted into the lineup of immortals. The trickle of newer deities have long since dwindled, so having there be a new one among the ranks will inevitably be a big deal.

~☽.✧.☾~

“But there’s a huge function! It’s not so bad!” 

“Thor,” Tony sighs, “I’m already so busy with my like—what—’ _mortal_ ’ life. How am I going to juggle the duties of a deity and my own?”

“Ah!” Thor lights up at that question, “You probably won’t have duties until your mortal body dies. At least that’s what I’ve been told about the—er—Indian deities. Makes it easier if you’ve realized it before you die.” 

Tony blinks, “Well, ok,” and nods, looking back at his toes. 

Thor nods too—a bit awkward—the only noise that fills the room is the clinking of gold bangles and the murmurs of the servants as they dress Tony for his celebration. He’s still holding out his hands to the servants, who talk amongst themselves in mummers that neither men try to decipher. Thor traces how Tony rocks his stretched out legs on his heels, the drying mehndi catching the light and making it appear glossy upon his tawny skin. Thor can tell Tony is lost in thought, and he lets the other man be, content to just take in the room around them.

The preparation rooms are similar to that of weddings, so Thor would understand Tony’s confusion from earlier. It was decorated with flower garlands hanging from the wall and draped auspicious gold trimmed red cloths. Tony sat—slightly elevated in the flooring—and the two servants—one who looked traditionally male and the other female—were applying henna up and down his hands. 

“Thor, the Avengers know where I am right?”

“Uh—” 

“ _Thor!_ ”

~☽.✧.☾~

(The Avengers—after being informed and yelling at Thor, not necessarily in that order—were invented to celebrate.)

((Tony goes back home feeling both burdened and tremendously lightened. But, Thor would be there to help him with his new form.))

(((It would be alright.)))

~☽.✧.☾~

**_~ FIN ~_ **

[Art of Desi!Tony - Tumblr Link](https://the-aven-gen-z-ers.tumblr.com/post/636541565494542336/some-desi-tony-in-honor-of-diwali-this-is-also)

[Art of Desi!Tony - Instagram Link](https://www.instagram.com/p/CITz3JYhIEM/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link)

[My personal Tumblr blog - @the-fifth-marauder101](https://the-fifth-marauder101.tumblr.com/)

[My Marvel Tumblr Blog - @the-aven-gen-zers](https://the-aven-gen-z-ers.tumblr.com/)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So what do you guys think? I hope you enjoyed! Please please please let me know what you think in the comments and leave kudos! I'd also love if you'd let me know if you'd want to see more of this verse? I might have some oneshots planned to write later.
> 
> Feel free to contact me on my socials! Also check out my art and other works in these series! 
> 
> Love you! Stay safe and stay informed!!
> 
> ~Vix

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know what you think! Please leave a comment and Kudo! Let me know if you would like to see more of this specific verse or anything else in these series!
> 
> Stay Safe and stay informed in these trying times. 
> 
> <3 
> 
> ~Vix


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